Not until the End Always
by Elburn
Summary: PoA Era: Harry is unconcious, following the dementor attack. Remus Lupin reflects on a promise to James and Lily... a promise to protect Harry... One-shot.


**Not until the End. Always.  
_Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban_**

**_Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, nor do I own any of the characters therein. That glory and credit belongs solely to Ms. Rowling and Warner Bros. Studios. I borrowed a little dialogue, but tried to modify it as best I could. Also, the title is a line from Final Fantasy X... Tidus' promise to Yuna at Lake Macalania; That he will stay with her, always. A little of the dialogue has also been used in this story, but again, modified. I do not own Final Fantasy X. It belongs to Squaresoft/Square Enix. _**

**-oOo-**

_Stay with him until the end. Please._

_**Not until the end. Always.**_

The Hogwarts Express was moving again. Harry, now lying across two seats in the cabin, had been shaking just moments earlier. Ron was staring up at the doorway, looking spooked. It wasn't every year that a Dementor came aboard the train to Hogwarts.

Professor Remus Lupin furrowed his brows, seeing the prone form of James... _No, Harry_, he sternly reminded himself... lying on the seats in front of him. The Dementor had attacked Harry, causing the boy to go into a strange fit. Now, he was unconscious, and his friends were shaken. Lupin pulled a bar of chocolate from his robes, and began to break it into pieces.

"You'll need to eat this." He said quietly, handing out pieces of the bar to those who were still conscious. The young wizards murmured their thanks, and began to nibble at the corners of this anti-Dementor "medicine".

Harry's eyes were still closed, seemingly oblivious to Hermione gently running her fingers through his hair. Lupin had seen Harry like this only once before, but it was for much different reasons...

_Eight Years Ago...  
_Mrs. Arabella Figg had taken care of Harry for the day, while the Dursleys went out to town with Dudley in tow. Knowing she was aware of the magical community, Dumbledore had asked her many years ago to keep an eye on Harry. From time to time, various wizards would pop in, on Dumbledore's orders, to ensure Harry was still perfectly safe. Today, it was Remus Lupin's duty.

Harry had fallen sick with the cold, that day. Mrs. Figg had dosed him with medicine (which Harry made a face at), and told him to sleep. Now, he was lying on Mrs. Figg's couch, covered with a blue, fluffy blanket. His little nose was still slightly red, and his breathing was more audible than usual. He had been asleep for an hour, at least. Lupin had arrived just as Harry had fallen asleep. Mrs. Figg left Lupin to look after him, knowing she could trust him with Harry, while she took a walk to the shops to buy more cat food for her favourite cat, Mr. Tibbles.

Lupin sat down on the edge of the couch, next to Harry's sleeping form. The boy moved around, making a slight murmuring noise. His smaller arms closed around Lupin's forearm, holding it close to his chest like a teddy bear. Lupin reached out a hand, and began to softly run it through Harry's hair.

Harry's eyes were flickering open.

"Hallo, Harry." Lupin said quietly, smiling.  
"Who are you?" Harry asked. He looked up at the wizard with Lily's inquisitive green eyes.  
"My name is Mr. Lupin. I'm a friend of Mrs. Figg's." Lupin answered kindly.

Harry had nodded, but stayed quiet, clutching his blanket a little closer than before.

_The Hogwarts Express..._

Harry was waking up, blinking, trying to fix his sight. Hermione handed him a pair of glasses.

"Thanks." Harry said quietly. His eyes landed on Lupin, sitting across from him.  
"Eat this." Lupin handed him something. "It's alright, it's chocolate." He explained, seeing Harry's blank look.

Harry didn't seem satisfied with this explanation alone. He was now staring up at the doorway, as Ron had done earlier. "What... was that thing..?"  
"One of the Dementors of Azkaban." Lupin replied, his voice still quiet and patient. He gazed pointedly at the chocolate now melting in Harry's hand. "Eat, it'll help."

Harry lifted the chocolate to his lips to take a bite. Lupin got to his feet, and smiled down at Harry. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to have a little word with the driver."

Opening the door, the smile fading a little, Lupin gazed down at the floor ruefully. So many years ago, Lupin had been one of the few that James and Lily had trusted with Harry. But he couldn't even stop a Dementor from attacking the boy. _'Sirius and I... we promised we would protect him_.' Lupin thought, as a shudder raced up his spine and across his shoulders. Only months later, Sirius had shown his true colours, betraying James and Lily to Voldemort. _'Rather, I promised I would protect him_.' Lupin corrected himself. '_Not_ _until the end. Always_.'

**oOo**

Please Review!

One more note: I'm still finding punctuation errors. keeps eating my hypens and dashes. If you come across anything, let me know. Thank you.


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